US President Donald Trump and Democratic Party mayoral candidates New YorkZohran Mamdani, however, was resolutely conciliatory at their first personal meeting despite previous attacks.
“We just had a great meeting, a very good and very productive meeting,” Trump said. “And I want to congratulate the Mayor. He really ran an extraordinary campaign against a lot of smart people, starting from the primaries, against some very strong, very smart people, and he defeated them,” praised the President.
Republican Trump has Mamdani, a left-wing Democrat, in his seat Election campaign repeatedly called a “communist” and threatened to withdraw federal funding from New York if he won the election. At a meeting at the White House, he pledged his support to Mamdani.
“We will help him realize everyone’s dream: to have a strong and safe New York.” Trump said he agreed with the 34-year-old on more things than he thought. He will support Mamdani to be a “great mayor.”
Trump and Mamdani want to serve New Yorkers together
Mamdani said he wants to reduce the high cost of living for New Yorkers “in partnership with the president.” This is also a concern of many Trump voters in the east coast metropolitan cities spoken to. New York’s mayoral candidate promises his city’s residents rent control, free buses and child care. He wants to finance this through higher taxes on the rich and corporations.
Mamdani has also been rude to US presidents in the past. But for Trump, that no longer seems to be the case. When asked, Trump joked that he had been called things far worse than a despot. “Maybe he will change his mind after we work together.”
Mamdani, for his part, stressed that he and Trump were not focused on their many differences of opinion, but rather on their shared goal of serving New Yorkers. “I really appreciate this conversation,” Mamdani said.
Mamdani won the mayoral election on November 4 with a clear lead. He will replace city leader Eric Adams on January 1. Mamdani is the first self-proclaimed Muslim to hold the post. At 34, he will also be the youngest mayor of a US metropolitan city in more than a century.
